Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1887-01-20
A GOOD THRASHING.

poor health, - not meaning by this asser-
tion 20 express contentment with their
condition, hut the contrary. When l,
however, tell you that once had jolly
good thrashing, there is special inten-
Hon in every word Of the phrase. The
eastigation was jolly, because l thor
oughly rclished every blow as it fell on
my body; and it was good, because 1t
saved my life. The circumstances in
which / took this very unusual form Of
qualification were as follows:
was living at Trimurtigherry, where
I had small cotton cleaning and press
ing factory. The cotton grown from In
digenous seed in that district has but a
poor staple, and, in fact, is a crop only
cultivated on soils which are considered
too poor for cereals. This inferiority Of
quality naturally deferred shippers from
placing orders freely with me; and in the
hope OF demonstrating to the ryots the
advantage of paying more attention to the
industry, l procured a variety Of seed
from America, and formed small model
plantation near my bungalow.
IL succeeded very well, and as the bolls
ripened, used carefully to gather them
myself, in order to keep the different
kinds distinct, and TO test the yield
was engaged one morning in this
manner, and was in the net of plucking
some pods off u tree, when felt sharp
bite on my right wrist. At the same in
slant saw snake drop to the ground
and writhc rapidly away. noticed q
bright yellow line on each side of the
upper surface of the reptiles head con-
vergent on the snout, and l feared, only
l. 4 L. l.
tic-polonga, the dabOa RUSSELL, one of
the most common of vcnomous snakes.
II anything were needed to confirm my
misgivings, it was supplied by glance
at my injured wrist. A look was suffi-
cient, and l instantly knew that the
wound had been inflicted by poisonous
serpent.
There is an unmistakable indication of
the nature of snake bites, the non-poison-
GUS being marked by the teeth of the ami
NAL, whereas poisonous ones are dis
tinguished by only two punctures. The
two fatal marks where the creatures
fangs had pierced my skin were only too
plainly visible.
"At least my destroyer shall not es-
cape,n and springing forward, crushed
the snake which proved to be tic-pol-
Onga, under my heel, just as it was reach
ing crevice in the earth, where it would
have been safe.
Revenge was certainly my primary i'm
pulse in killing the reptile, but had q
secondary object, which was to ascertain
his age and size, as the consequences at
tendant on poisonous snake bite are
materially affected thereby. The tic
polonga attains length of fifty inches,
and death generally rapidly supervenes
on the bite of full grown specimen, es-
pecially if the wounded part happen to
be one of the extremities, such as finger
or toe which can be fairly seized between
the animals jaws. The venom is in that
case injected deeply into the flesh, and
commingling at once with the blood, is
rapidly diffused through the veins and
arteries, and reaching the heart, para
lyzes the action of that organ. But if the
part attacked present u wider surface, so
that the epidermis may perhaps only be
abraded and the subcuticle remain un-
pierced, the chances of remedial measures
proving efiicacious are greatly increased,
while the consequences of any wound in
flicted by daboia of not more than
twenty or twenty-four inches may gen
orally be counteracted.
The degree Of danger from snake bite
also depends considerably on several
other conditions, such as the health of the
patient; whether the snake has recently
made u meal or bitten any other object,
in which case it will have exhausted its
poison glands; and, finally, the time of
day, as in the early morning. when the
air is raw and chilly, snake is languid,
and will strike with comparatively little
energy, whereas during the heat of the
day it is active and generally very fierce.
The circumstances of my case seemed
decidedly against me- The tic-polonga
/ had killed was at least thirty inches
long, and therefore, capable of inficting
mortal wound; it was fasting, and its
poison glands must consequently have
been fully charged at the moment it bit
melt was after 8 O'Clock, and very
hot day, and the bite on my wrist was
very deep. The only point in my favor
was that l was in excellent health I
knew the awful gravity of my situation,
and was aware that unless some remedies
were applied Immediately, should GER
tainly be dead in three quarters of an
hour at the longest.
There was no surgeon or apothecary
within fifteen miles of my factory, but
l fortunately had some knowledge Of the
proper method of dealing with such cases
as my own, having once seen ryot being
treated for snake bite by the remedies
l proposed to apply to myself, only re-
membered with melancholy interest that
The unfortunate Hindoo had died, not
wtihstanding the unremitting exertions
made to save his life.
The treatment for snake bite is ligature
of the limb above the wound, free incis-
ion, sucking, cauterization, bathing the
wound with ammonia, and taking am
monia or brandy internally Remember
ing these directions, / rushed into the
bungalow ana made very efficient
tourniquet with walking stick and q
wet towel, which passed round my fore
arm, cffectually stopping the circulation.
also summoned my boy Veerapen to my
assistance, and as had no ammonia in
the house, ordered him to open a bottle
of brandy with all speed. While Vecra-
pen was getting the cognac, slashcd my
wrist freely all round the injured part
with my pocket knife, particularly prob
ing the punctures made by the serpent's
fangs, and as the blood spurted freely
from the wound I sucked it with the
vigor and desperation of man who
knows that delay Of only quarter of a
minute in eliminating the virus from his
sytsem may seal his doom.
noticed with horror that my arm was
swelling rapidly, and began to expert
ence difficulty in respiration, which l
knew was a most unfavorablc symptom.
Some powerful excitant was necessary